[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2516 Reported in House (RH)]
<DOC>
Union Calendar No. 380
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 2516
[Report No. 119-444]
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit political litmus
tests in accreditation of institutions of higher education, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 31, 2025
Mr. Owens (for himself, Ms. Tenney, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Grothman, Mr. Rose,
Mr. Babin, Mr. Onder, Mr. Moore of West Virginia, and Mr. Messmer)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Education and Workforce
January 13, 2026
Additional sponsors: Mr. Finstad, Mr. Steube, Mr. Fine, and Mr. Guthrie
January 13, 2026
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March
31, 2025]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit political litmus
tests in accreditation of institutions of higher education, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Accreditation for College Excellence
Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON POLITICAL LITMUS TESTS IN ACCREDITATION OF
INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.
(a) Operating Procedures Required.--Section 496(c) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099b(c)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (8), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in paragraph (9), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(10) confirms that the standards for accreditation of the
agency or association do not--
``(A) except as provided in subparagraph (B)--
``(i) require, encourage, or coerce any
institution to--
``(I) support, oppose, or commit to
supporting or opposing--
``(aa) a specific partisan,
political, or ideological
viewpoint or belief or set of
such viewpoints or beliefs; or
``(bb) a specific viewpoint
or belief or set of viewpoints
or beliefs on social, cultural,
or political issues; or
``(II) support or commit to
supporting the disparate treatment of
any individual or group of individuals
on the basis of any protected class
under Federal civil rights law, except
as required by Federal law or a court
order; or
``(ii) assess an institution's or program
of study's commitment to any ideology, belief,
or viewpoint;
``(B) prohibit an institution--
``(i) from having a religious mission,
operating as a religious institution, or being
controlled by a religious organization (in a
manner described in paragraph (1), (2), (3),
(4), (5), or (6) of section 106.12(c) of title
34, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect
on the date of the enactment of this
paragraph)), or from requiring an applicant,
student, employee, or independent contractor
(such as an adjunct professor) of such an
institution to--
``(I) provide or adhere to a
statement of faith; or
``(II) adhere to a code of conduct
consistent with the stated religious
mission of such institution or the
religious tenets of such organization;
or
``(ii) from requiring an applicant,
student, employee, or contractor to take an
oath to uphold the Constitution of the United
States; or
``(C) require, encourage, or coerce an institution
of higher education to violate any right protected by
the Constitution.''.
(b) Limitation on Scope of Criteria.--Section 496 of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099b) is further amended by amending
subsection (g) to read as follows:
``(g) Limitation on Scope of Criteria.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall not establish
criteria for accrediting agencies or associations that are not
required by this section.
``(2) Institutional eligibility.--An institution that is in
compliance with the standards of its accrediting agency or
association that assess the institution in accordance with
subsection (a)(5) shall meet the accreditation requirements for
certification as an institution of higher education under
section 102 and subpart 3 of this part, regardless of any
additional standards adopted by the agency or association for
purposes unrelated to participation in programs under this
Act.''.
SEC. 3. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act, or the amendments made by this Act, shall be
construed to prevent religious accreditors from holding and enforcing
religious standards on institutions they choose to accredit.
Union Calendar No. 380
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 2516
[Report No. 119-444]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit political litmus
tests in accreditation of institutions of higher education, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
January 13, 2026
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed